Figo better than Zidane, says Leboeuf

FRANK LEBOEUF raised a few eyebrows in the French camp ahead of Wednesday's semi-final against Portugal by claiming that Luis Figo, not his own team-mate Zinedine Zidane, is the best player in the world.

By Peter Lansley in Bruges

12:00AM BST 27 Jun 2000

FRANK LEBOEUF raised a few eyebrows in the French camp ahead of Wednesday's semi-final against Portugal by claiming that Luis Figo, not his own team-mate Zinedine Zidane, is the best player in the world.

And though he paid tribute to the "incredible skills" of Zidane, who scored France's opening goal in Sunday's quarter-final victory over Spain, Leboeuf believes Portugal's captain wields more influence within his team.

"Figo is for me simply the best player in the world at the moment, far away from Rivaldo and any other player," said Leboeuf. "You could see that in Barcelona's victory over us in the Champions League.

"Unfortunately for us, Portugal have so many players who have great talent, so the semi-final will be a tough game."